Racial Ice Breakers in Film

            After George Floyd’s murder, seeing the reality of racism is unavoidable.  The list of African Americans killed by police has grown too long.  Dozens of cellphone recordings of police brutality have pervaded the internet.  White people are recognizing privilege in the sense of safety – that cops aren’t nearly as threatening towards them.  There may be more or less racial tension due to white shame.  Though there is an opportunity to unite.  We agree there is a problem, and the problem is difficult to talk about.  Racism is an issue that needs to be addressed, and maybe sitting down friends of different races and watching some movies would break the ice. 

            Here are ten movies that confront the topic of racism and racial tension.  There are plenty of POC marketed comedies, but they are just funny and not addressing inequality.  There are serious dramas like “The Hate U Give,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Roots,” “and “BlacKkKlansman,” which give insight into African American lives and their history.  Though, this list focuses on black and white people uniting and working together as main characters in the stories.

1.  White Man’s Burden (1995).  This social science fiction movie speculates on what would happen if socioeconomic inequality were racially flipped.  Black people are the aristocrats and poor people are all white.

2.  Freedom Writers (2007).  A teacher opens up to learning about the lives of her inner city students, and she opens their minds to learning about the Holocaust.  The subject of history takes on a new meaning in journaling their personal histories, while learning about historical oppression.  The students grow closer to their teacher, and the teacher learns to earn respect first.

3.  The Help (2011).  A Mississippi journalist interviews housekeepers during the 1960s.  Racism is rampant, and the Caucasian writer gives three black women a voice despite discouraging social pressures.  If you love the movie, read the book it’s based on.

4.  Remember the Titans (2000).  A high school football team is racially integrated, and the coaches bring the teammates together to get to know one another.  The movie addresses racism, homophobia, and differences in gender expression between the coaches’ daughters.

5.  The Color of Friendship (2000).  A racist white girl from South Africa becomes a foreign exchange student with an African American host family.  Shock is on both sides, but the racist girl eventually learns to love this family and changes her views.  This Disney movie boldly confronts racism.

6.  Save the Last Dance (2001).  This movie is more than a ballerina learning hip hop.  There is racial tension, social mores, and transitional differences between urban lifestyles and the suburbs where Julia Stiles’s character came from.  It also addresses different racial viewpoints.

7.  The Blind Side (2009).  Based on a true story, a white family takes in a high school aged black boy.  The suburban school administrators aren’t as welcoming, but the new adoptive mother was determined to help change their views.  The boy, Michael, deals with the racial homogeny of his present school environment and flashbacks of his childhood.  However from his difficult past he had developed survival skills no one else had.

8.  Amos and Andrew (1993).  A wealthy black man is mistaken for a burglar in his own home, and the police try to cover their racism by hiring a white ex-convict to take him hostage.  The two become closer, and they learn about their racist neighbors’ personal lives.

9.  Die Hard with a Vengeance (Die Hard 3) (1995).  The death defying cop played by Bruce Willis teams up with Samuel L Jackson’s no-nonsense character to catch a riddling terrorist.  Racial stereotypes are defied in this film.

10.  Bringing Down the House (2003).  A divorced, white, upper-crusty lawyer finds out his online girlfriend is black upon meeting, and she needed legal help since she was falsely accused of a crime.  The movie addresses overt racism from neighbors and the lawyer’s evil sister in-law.  The film also deals with sexism and socioeconomic stereotypes being unraveled.